Dollhouse
by BlaireZ16K
Summary: The Order is in a predicament; akuma have been acting oddly recently,and have become a lot more dangerous as well as diversified. Their only clue to the new danger is a picture that was found at one of the crime-scenes which leads them to Garmedia and into a meeting with an also perplexed Circus. Will they cooperate in this dangerous case? And what exactly is Gareki's role here?
1. Chapter 1

_"You're so beautiful, Hime-chan." A dark voice spoke into the darkness, his pale hand soft against the cool glass that encased his most precious possession. Her pale eyelids were a soft and pale violet, flickering only a fraction but never opening wide enough to reveal their sapphire orbs. Her long, dark-as-night hair splayed around her in the cool crimson fabric that made her glass coffin a striking comparison to her pale, nearly translucent skin. She was a vision of beauty, a sleeping beauty, her soft white dress only adding to the charm of her innocence._

 _And to the addiction of the man who watched her sleep. The blond smiled, his adoration for his love the only pure feeling that ever made him feel alive. She was the only one who made him feel as if he had a soul...but could also be the one who reminded him of how much he was a monster. His shadow rippled on the floor, growling at him as it felt his lust. Desperate as well._

 _He sighed, removing his hand from the glass, calming himself and his shadow as he breathed deeply._

 _"Soon," he said softly, looking at the clock on the wall. "It will happen soon."_

 _Then he would be able to hear her again, hear the melody that only she could sing into his very bones._

 _His shadow rippled again._

* * *

Allen watched beside Lavi, sharing the same horrified expression as his friend as they watched the building they had just been heading for completely burst into flames.

"The hell?!" He heard Kanda shout and Allen just barely withdrew in time for something to dash passed him and toward Kanda and Lenalee, who had landed on the roof just behind them.

"Is that an akuma?!" Lenalee asked in shock even as she reacted instantly and flipped backward, bringing down her boot in mid-air on the black, flexible missile that insisted on attacking her.

"I don't know!" Their finder, Mirrick answered her, taking shelter through the balcony on the other side of the roof they were settled on. "I have never seen any akuma like this and there wasn't supposed to be anyone in the building at this time!"

"My eye isn't reacting to it," Allen observed in some shock even as more seem to shoot out from the rubble of the large church that has once stood so proudly in its small down of Hato. They were instantly on defense.

"I can see now why Komui thought it would be better to send all four of us in," Lavi stated with a grin even as he called forth lightening through his hammer, though there seemed to be an endless barrage of the special varuga emerging from the building rubble.

"The reports only suspected that akuma were being made in that building, not that there were new types, but I guess Big Brother just wanted to make sure we would be safe just in case," Lenalee remarked as she landed back on the roof once more.

"It doesn't matter," Kanda growled, Mugen slicing clear through the horde as he pounced forward, uncaring of Lenalee and Allen's cries of alarm as he charged forward. "All that matters is that they're taken care of." The creatures in front of him never stood a chance as he unleashed Mugen.

"Yu," Lavi sighed, sounding like a scolding parent a he, Allen and Lenalee landed beside him on the ground that was still covered in ruble but now free of the new monsters. Allen looked around, noting that none of the people of Hato had dared adventure outside during battle. It was a relief, but it also slightly saddened him that the villagers had probably learned over the last month that they were better in locking themselves inside and ignoring the events than to actually understand what was happening to their small town.

Four young girls were dead already because of that willingness to turn the other way as evil awoke in their town. If their finders had not been visiting the area at the right moment, there may have never even been a report filed. A mourning silence descended upon the four, maybe done unconsciously, as they watched small fires crackle and begin in the rubble, probably caused by the electrical units, but never ignite.

Only the howl of the winds as they slid between buildings filled their world.

"What's that, Yu?"

Lavi's question had every silent observer blinking and turning their gazes toward where he was staring. Kanda looked down, a white rectangle fluttered helplessly beneath his boot. A smashed photo screen laid somewhere close to it.

"A picture?" Lenalee asked even as the exorcists gathered, Kanda holding the picture up so they could all see it.

"It's a girl." Lavi observed, his voice awed at the beautiful young girl, who was turned toward the camera. Her impossibly blue eyes seemed to glisten even through the picture as she turned toward whoever had taken the picture, a hand on one hip and with a look as if silently asking someone if they'd lost their mind. One of her delicate eyebrows was even arched. She wore some kind of tan dress, yet it looked tattered, though that didn't seem to bother the girl in the picture as she eyed whoever had held the camera, some of her long dark hair trailing over her left shoulder.

A silence once again settled over them as Allen was the first to speak.

"Mirrick, let me see the file, please."

The confused founder handed the file over without question and Allen opened and flipped through it, clearly determined in what he had observed, much to the confusion of his team.

"What's up, Allen?" Lavi asked and Allen apparently found what he was looking for.

"Look here," he said, gathering the pictures of the four victims and showing them compared to the one between Kanda's fingers.

A surprised silence as the four compared the five pictures.

"They look just like her." Lavi breathed softly and Allen nodded.

"Could this be another victim we haven't seen?" Lenalee asked in worry but Kanda shook his head, finally breaking his silence.

"Seeing as how it was in the building and framed, I highly doubt it."

"Then this could be the girl they're searching for," Lavi deduced but Allen spoke up again quickly.

"Maybe, but the victims are all about our ages and the girl in the photo seems younger, maybe eight or so."

"Then...could it be...," Lenalee started, her voice hauntingly soft. "They're searching... for a _body_... for her?"

"But Akuma aren't made that way though... right?" Lavi asked, a cold feeling snaking its way through him as he looked down at the picture of the little girl who could be dead for all he knew- or maybe even taken away. Both were bad.

"We need to speak to Kamui," Kanda said gravely and, surprising all three of the exorcists around him, placed the young girl's picture safely within his coat. "Come on, " he growled then, not even elaborating on the surprising gentleness he had shown. "I'm leaving."

"Hey! Yu!" Lavi called in exasperation even as Kanda started walking away and people slowly started to exit their homes, eyeing their destroyed chapel in horror and then the exorcists. Lavi didn't even know where to start.


	2. Meetings

"Have you all had your rest and recovered?" Kamui asked the four teenagers who now converged in his office. After their report he had forced them all to rest and recover and report to him when they were ready. Surprisingly enough, they had all been in his office as soon as they had finished breakfast the next morning. Even Kanda was present, though a silent presence as he leaned against the wall by the bookshelf and refused to join Allen, Lenalee and Lavi's conversation.

All four answered him in confirmation and he pulled out the files he had prepared over the night.

"I am sorry, but your mystery girl in the picture has not been recorded in any database that I used." He paused as all their eyes went to the folder in his hands and continued. "But I was able to determine where exactly the picture was taken."

"Really?" Lavi asked in surprise even as Allen walked forward and took the file, opening it even as Kamui began to elaborate.

"We were only able to because there was a special flower in the background of the picture that doesn't grow just anywhere in the world and helped us narrow down an area. Though it is terribly far. "

"'Garmedia'?" Allen asked, as if tasting the word in curiosity, and Komui nodded gravely.

"It is a land that is quite different from ours. There is a natural barrier that mostly separates their lands from some of the rest of the world so they do not rely on the Order but on another organization. There are even rumors that their technology advancements are centuries passed ours. All in all, it is nearly a completely different world out there. I was thinking of sending finders out there first-"

"No." the four teens spoke immediately, surprising Kamui and apparently each other for a moment. An odd silence filled the room and Kamui slowly began to continue.

"But I decided that it may take too long for the Finders to retrieve information so I, instead, attached your names on this mission and added some finders."

The four looked surprised now and Kamui almost sighed aloud.

"If needed, only Allen and Lavi can-"

"No."

"I'm going!"

Both Kanda and Lenalee looked at each other for a moment but Kamui instantly turned toward his little sister and began to speak.

"That is a very far and dangerous voyage you'd be taking, Lenalee. I don't think-"

"Brother," his sister cut him off, her voice soft but steady. "If this girl really is the reason for the new advancement of akuma, then when we find her, she might be in danger." Kamui looked at her in some confusion, along with the other males in the room.

"Well, of course she migh-"

"And who do you think she will confide in better once we finally meet or save her?"

A pause as all the males in the room thought on the subject matter.

"I...see," Kamui spoke aloud, not really knowing how to best that explanation. He cleared his throat. "Then, maybe Lavi should-"

"Actually," the red-head spoke and Kamui wondered if he was ever going to be able to finish his thoughts. "I should go also because this is a very important moment in history. After all, what kind of bookman would I be if I didn't gain a first-hand account of this phenomenon occurring and of it's cause. It would wound and maybe tarnish a completely important aspect for our future. I cannot even imagining letting such a horrible event occur." A look toward Kamui. "And I definitely wouldn't want to be the one responsible for taking away something so important for research."

Allen eyed Lavi with a sideways "do-you-really-think-he'll-buy-that" look even as Lenalee tried to keep her pleasant mask on her face as her brother seemed to have a mini-heart-attack at Lavi's words.

"W-well," the older male said, trying to keep the tremble out of his face even as he turned toward Allen. "Then, maybe Allen can-"

"Are you sure about that?" Lavi asked, placing his elbow on Allen's shoulder even as the white-haired male looked over at him- and at his hidden smirk of evil as he continued, his voice sounding completely innocent. "We're going to be in an entirely new world. There may even be new akuma we've never seen before! In fact, Allen's eye might be the only thing saving us from life and death! What are you thinking?" he asked dramatically.

If Kamui was pale before, he wasn't even on the skin scale anymore as all color bled out of his face. Lenalee was tempted to tell her brother that Lavi was simply doing it to make him react but Lavi pressed his forefinger to his lips even as their commander turned shakingly toward the silent, dark-haired male leaning against the wall by the bookshelf. He looked almost frail as he spoke.

"Kanda?"

"I'm going." The iced, dark voice held no argument seemed to shatter the frail leader with a force as unrelenting as Lavi's hammer and that had Kamui defeatedly watching as the teens in the room began planning their trip.

Thinking seriously, Kamui made sure that he would send them with the best of his finders and planned to have them check in at every checkpoint. He didn't want to pull rank, but he was also worried. Yet, he would trust his children, even if something in his gut lurched and warred against such an ideal.

He had to trust them not only as his children, but also as exorcists of the Black Order.

...

Gareki felt the air in the Research Tower an tried not to let it affect him. Fear and despair filled the air and Gareki tried to shake it off as he made his way toward the top floors where the leaders of Circus were meeting. The data screen in his hands didn't even feel real as he made his way up. The results he had been given by Ako just didn't seen possible and he could feel his gut churning as he got closer to the room.

It had been a day since the attack on Suzume, in which Circus and its agents had engaged varuga of some types that they had never seen before. Just watching from the monitors had left Gareki scarred as he remembered hearing the screams as entire groups of innocents had been turned to attacked by some giant creature and actually turned to _dust_. As if they had never existed in the first place. It had given Gareki chills and had even nearly killed some Circus agents. Both Tsukumo and Keichi had quickly recovered but almost the entire town of Suzume had been destroyed and no one felt safe.

"Gareki?"

Gareki blinked, finding himself in front of the doors of the room. Tsukumo and Jiki seemed to be watching him and he realized he had been staring out into space. He felt his face flush immediately but hid it by directing the agents' attention to the data screen in his hands.

"Give this to Dr. Akari," he said simply, forcing the uninterested persona as best he could as Tsukumo nodded. He turned, part of him hesitating enough to hear the voices that filled the hall as Tsukumo opened the door of the room to give Akari the data.

Tsukitachi.

Hirato.

Dr. Akari.

And...Tokitatsu?


	3. New Types of Meetings?

"Are your agents alright, Hirato?" Tsukitachi asked the other captain as he swirled the ruby-red liquid in his glass.

"Yes, they've all made standard recoveries. How about yours?" The dark-haired captain answered smoothly.

"Stop acting as if you're both completely fine." The pink-haired doctor sitting by Tsukitachi snapped, his impatience obvious.

"You seem to be doing it as well, Doctor Akari," Tokitatsu spoke to their left from his position beside his younger brother.

A small knock at the door had them all glancing upward as Tsukumo entered the room, a data screen in her hands.

"I have something for you, Dr. Akari," she said softly and handed him he screen silently.

"Thank you, Tsukumo," the doctor nodded brisquely and turned toward the data immediately...and felt breath from three different people breathing down his neck.

"Excuse me! I _thought_ I was sharing a room with actual _adults_!" he snapped at the three males who had soehow all situated themsleves around hiss chair to read form the data screen in his hand.

"Shhh," Hirato told the doctor, sounding like a chiding parent. "Please Doctor, I'm trying to read very important material."

"YOU BA-"

"They're not classified as varuga?" Tokitatsu asked in surprise from Akari's right.

"Apparently they're not made of the same components," the doctor growled in what sounded like a huff as he turned his full attention to the screen, already knowing that it was time to get serious again. Too many innocents had died already.

"'For now they are of an unknown species'..." Hirato read softly, his thoughts returning to the scenes that he had witnessed with the huge monstrosities. "Not varuga, but something just as dangerous." He didn't want to say very mmuch with Tokitatsu in the room but the man had insisted on being informed, more so than the council.

"Where does this lead us?" Tokitatsu asked, standing from his position bent over the back of Akari's chair. "Our weapons can destroy them, but they have abilites that we've never seen before. It's almost like we're taking shots in the dark here."

"We still need more information," the doctor sighed, placing he report on the table and fighting the temptation to down the glass of alcohol sitting on the table. "This isn't nearly enough."

But what could they do?

* * *

"Hey! Nai!" Gareki shouted in irritation as the niji took off happily down the paved road.

"Aw, let him have some fun!" a certain blond idiot said happily as he seemed to almost _float_ passed him int he direction of the niji runaway. Gareki wanted to grit his teeth, feeling surrounded by airheads.

"That's not the point of this trip! And keep a leash on him!"

"Just let them around a bit. It'll be good for them," Jiki's confident voice spoke form behind him and Gareki wanted to yell again but only sighed, trying to walk forward and somehow keep up with the two idiots in front of him.

The town of Washi was a small town that Circus had chosen to dock at while they reloaded and planned. As Hirato had said, there was no reason to simply fly around and use resources when there was no game plan in mind. Gareki had to grudgingly agree.

But he did NOT agree with his job of watching over Nai and the blond idiot as they "explored and studied" the town that many called the "Gateway to Garmedia" as it was the first town to encounter after passing through the large land blockade than blocked Garmedia from a significant portion of the world. It wasn't impossible to get over the natural barrier- many just didn't try.


	4. Allen?

Gareki sighed in irritation as he looked upward to the giant Nyanperowna sign above the store that Nai and Yogi had gone so happily inside. He had no idea where Jiki had gone off to, but felt some relief that they had all returned to some kind of normality. Weighing his options, Gareki let his mind wander as his feet began to carry him away from the store. He didn't want to go too far just in case the two idiots got in trouble, but also didn't want to be anywhere _near_ the stupid place.

His thoughts of his escape were interrupted when the sound of excited voices filled his ears.

"That's it! That's the one!"

He wasn't the only that turned toward the loud voices as a couple and some other residents were also looking toward a group of four young people standing outside of a flower shop. None of them looked older than Yogi so he guessed they were about his age. They were all wearing some kind of matching suit of black and silver that made even Gareki wonder where the hell they were from.

The girl in the group, who was prettier than Gareki first realized, seemed to be pointing excitedly at a certain flower in the flower shop, the males around her watching her and trailing after her as she went into the store. He was originally going to dismiss them...

Until something caught his eye.

And he then couldn't quite believe those eyes.

Some kind of winged, golden... ball was...sniffing one of the outside flowers. For a second Gareki thought he as hallucinating but the things actually seemed to _breath_ in the flowery scent and _sigh_!

"What...the hell?"he heard himself whispering in shock, even after everything he had witnessed in the last six months- everything from combatic sheep to half-niji-half-human hybrids. It was almost too freaky as he finally walked up to it...slowly.

"Is it a robot?" he heard himself wondering out loud. He felt his fingers twitch in anticipation at the concept. Maybe if he could just catch it...

"Come ON, Beansprout!" A shout boomed from opening door of the flower shop and seeming to echo all around the square, scaring the children playing near the fountain. And the golden floating ball.

"My name is Allen!" Another voice shouted, but this one not quite was threatening even as the four teenagers finally exited the flower shop and Gareki could actaully see them closer. Wow. What an...uhh...unique..crew. He tried not to show that he was staring as he turned as if admiring the flowers outside, as if copying what the golden floater had been doing before, though he wasn't quite at the _hyperventilate them into your lungs_ stage like the thing had been.

"Well, that sucks," a lighter, mroe carefree voice spoke up and Gareki risked a side glance and found it to be a red-head with an...eyepatch? Again. Wow.

"Yeah, I was kind of hoping it was the same flower." He let his slanted gaze turn to the female voice and found someone that actually seemed to look normal with her long, dark pigtails and soft eyes. Hmm.

"They were really similar, though, so it's okay, really, Lenalee," the one who called himself Allen spoke up as he waved his hand and assured the female that it was nothing. His...red...hand. What was up with these people?!

"Are we done here?" the voice that had scared away all of the children before now asked in what sounded like a growl. He looked normal. Ish. Except the katana strapped on his waist.

Deciding he had ventured enough and met his quota of interesting people for the day, Gareki began to turn and walk back toward the Nyanperowna store. If his tread was a little too fast for normal walking, he ignored it as he went on, content not to explore any more of the town.

"Hey," Allen's voice spoke as he began to walk back across the street toward the store. "Where's Timcampy?"

"Wasn't he just out here a second ago?" the girl, Lenalee asked and Gareki walked on, waiting for their conversation to fade from his ears.

"Tim! Where are you?"

"Where-"

Gareki jerked as something seemed to yank his hood backward.

"The _hell_?!" he choked out, grabbing the edge of the hoodie around his neck even as his hood kept getting shoved in the other direction, nearly choking him. His balance was thrown off before he could help it and he felt his foot slip on the curve. Cursing as he was yanked back into a fall, cars honking loudly and blaringly as he fell completely into the street- right into their paths.

 _Shit!_ seemed to be all he could think as he realized he was probably about to die, his eyes squeezed shut without his permission.

"Watch out!"

And then the ground beneath him dissapeared.

Feeling a weightless sensation, Gareki wasn't sure what was happening, but it felt similar to when he was being flown around by Yogi and the others... Maybe Yogi had saved him in time? That sounded like him.

Slowly allowing his eyes to open, Gareki felt his heart alsmot stop as he found himself looking into dark blue eyes that he had never seen before. Over one of those eyes was a red pentagon. The white hair was what finally brought him away from the eyes and got his mind to focus better. At least for now. What was this guy's name...? Oh yeah.

"Allen."


	5. Manai?

_"Allen."_

Gareki saw those dark blue eyes widen at the mention of his name and asked himself why the hell he had let it slip that he had heard it before. But he wasn't thining that then as he noticed that Allen was descending...toward the ground.

"Hey!" he shouted, feeling an even more sickening feeling of weightlessness. "Can't you FLY?!"

The white haired male seemed look at him in confusion, but not worry, as he asked in a perplexed voice.

"Can you?"

Gareki had no choice but to hang on closer as the ground grew closer. And then they were there. On the ground. Safe. Farther away from the scene.

"How..?" he asked, his mind not catching up nearly as fast as he wished it would and he halfway decided to just shut-up until the situation finally became clear and he understood just what the hell was going on.

"Allen!" Gareki couldn't help but glance up along with the other male as the female voice called and the girl he had heard named Lenalee came flying out of nowhere (at least _she_ could fly, right?) and landed beside them. The other two were only seconds behind her and Gareki couldn't help but flush as he realized that he was still being held by Allen as if he were a damsel in distress. And also as if he weighed nothing.

Forcing himself not to feel emberassed, Gareki cleared his throat, pausing the conversation that was going on between the four, as if they had forgotten he was there.

"Ano," he started, forcing the heat not to show as he found he really couldn't remove himself. "Can I be put down...please?" The last part was only added in because Gareki didn't want to seem _too_ rude to the guy who did probably just save him from an early grave.

"Oh," Allen said in surprise, as if he hadn't even been thinking about releasing him. "Right!" He let gareki disentangle himself- and helped steady him as he swayed.

"I'm fine," he told the male, trying to take some steps back from the group, the hair on the back of his neck standing up slightly, as if his entire body was sending something that he didn't know yet; that these weren't normal people.

"Thanks for the rescue," he said, simply being polite and ready to leave and reconvene with the others as soon as possible. He had no doubt they were already looking for him- and if they heard about the incident before he could get to them...

"It was no problem," Allen answered him and Gareki pulled on one of his professional smiles that he used for his cover. It faltered with the male's next words. "It was kind of my fault anyway."

"Huh?" Gareki asked but Allen only smiled and spoke louder.

"That _was_ you, wasn't it, Tim?"

Gareki felt the odd tug in his hood again and found himself back to chest against the red-haired kid, who seemed to chuckle, his hand reaching outward. Toward his neck.

Gareki almost reacted instantly, his hand had snaked into his pocket, fitting instantly around the gun that Hirato had recently given back to him, telling him that it was only because he wanted him to be safe in the unsure times that they were facing.

"Come out, Timcampy," the red-head said easily and Gareki felt his hood be tugged on again until finally the small winged golden creature emerged and flew toward Allen, as lovingly as a pet to its master.

"So it _was_ you," Allen told the creature, an affectionate tone in his voice. "You trouble maker."

"You'll never teach that thing at this rate." Gareki heard the growling long-haired male snap at Allen and his pet ("Timcampy"), only to be chided by the female who seemed to step in before a fight was about to erupt, or a murder take place, one of the two.

Shaking his head, Gareki relaxed, releasing the weapon in his pocket as he looked around and mentally calculated his best way of making it back to Yogi and Nai. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he could already tell who it was. He began to walk in the direction he knew should take him back, ignoring the four still talking behind him.

Until a picture on the ground caught his eye. Had one of them dropped it when they were chasing after Allen? He was tempted to ignore it...but found himself looking at it even as he snatched it from the wind that began to blow it away.

A flower...Wait. He recognized this flower.

"Manai," he said softly, thinking of Yogi's sister and her first name she went by before she remembered her real name. She had been named such after a flower found only in Rimuhakka and its surrounding areas. He had looked up pictures in curiosity and now could compare the in perfect clarity with the one in the picture. They were definitely manai flowers.

"Oh! Do you know what flowers those are?" Hearing the female voice, Gareki looked up, taken out of his thoughts by the voice- and four people now surrounding him. Nearly jumping in surprise, Gareki was more shocked by the concept that he hadn't even heard them approach and surround him at all than their appearences behind and around him. That was nearly impossible to do.

Just who _were_ these people?

Keeping his outside composure, Gareki nodded, cooly handing the picture to the female in front of him. "Yeah. They're called 'manai' flowers. But they're really rare and only grow in special places."

"Places like what?" She asked him, stepping forward and Gareki arched an eyebrow at her enthusiasm. The files about Rimuhakka were sealed secrets so he couldn't mention them to outsiders.

"There really aren't that many special regions where they exist anymore." He didn't know _why_ he heard himself elaborating as he some of their shoulders begin to slump; Nai had probably gotten too deep under his skin, and that was an unsettling thought. "It's dangerous, but Rainbow Island would probably be your best bet for finding those kinds of exotic flowers." Shit! Why was he telling her all this?!

"And where's that?" the red-head asked from behind him and Gareki wanted to tell them to go get a map.

"And what do you mean dangerous?" Allen asked, his head tilting slightly at the words and Gareki hated how he reminded him of Nai at the moment. Be strong, damnit! Discussing Varugas was definitel a no-no, so Gareki allowed his mind to flip, to think of another solution in this conversation.

And thought of one.

"Actually..."


	6. Home

**_Helloo! This chapter is kinda mainly my joy in Gareki's acting skills. They're pretty awesome in the manga so...Yay!_**

* * *

"Actually,...it's something that I'm surprised you haven't heard."

"Haven't heard what?" Allen asked the younger male across from them, instantly curious. The younger male seemed honestly shocked that they didn't know whatever he knew- or apparently what everyone knew. The boy seemed to suddenly be unsure, looking slightly away as if he wasn't sure if he should continue. Allen shared a look with Lavi and Lenalee, then one with Kanda over the boy's head.

The dark-haired male nodded, his eyes dark.

Allen turned back to Gareki and started the smile that he usually used to make frightened witnesses talk to him. Lenalee and Lavi seemed to make the same effort as they also leaned forward, closer to the teen.

"It's alright," Allen smiled easily, hoping it portrayed easy accpetance. "Whatever you can tell us would really help a lot, I promise." He smiled again.

"Well," the other male started, still being hesitant but making some eye-contact. "It's just that that island is supposed to be _really_ dangerous."

A scoff from behind them and Allen sent Kanda a look that was just short of rolling his eyes, but the male only walked passed them, his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist. A determined gleam entered his eye as he spoke, confidence radiating from him.

"Trust me, kid. What you may call 'dangerous' is probably nothing compared to what we face on a regular basis."

Allen wanted to sigh in exasperation, even knowing that the other male was probably right about the situation. But that didn't excuse him from at least _trying_ to be gentle. He turned back toward the boy, hoping to apologize quickly-

And saw a blue flame now burning in those eyes that were of doubtful alaskan waters just second before.

At least, he could have sworn that was what he had seen in those eyes. The second those eyes connected to his own, those depths returned to their doubtful expressions.

What was-?

"It's true," the boy spoke again, his voice the same as before- simply informational. "They say that no one has ever been able to survive on that island because it's full of dangerous monsters and that no ship will ever travel any where close to it."

"Oh yeah?" Lavi asked even as Lenelee began to look troubled.

"No ships will take anyone there? No one?"

"No one." the male answered her, his voice sure and firm.

Assuming he'd made his point and finally talked the crazy people around him out of going to the island and seeing the "scary" monsters (though he couldn't imagine anything _less_ scary than Nai) that inhabited it, Gareki nodded and began to excuse himself, his phone buzzing in his pocket again. "Hey, listen. I've got to go. My younger brother is waiting for me."

"We'll walk with you," Lavi interjected, a grin on his lips and Gareki tried to find a way to object- when the hairs rose on the back of his neck and he felt his body stiffen.

"Hey," the red-head started but Gareki was reacting to instinct immediately, the gun whipped out his jacket and he angled it steadily toward the opening mouth of the alley close to them.

And toward the young children who had been playing in the playing square earlier.

"The hell?" he whispered mostly to himself, not completely understanding the situation but knowing his instincts were sharper than most. Now, they were screaming at him about something off about the three children who were slowly walking toward them.

"Sir?" one of them, a little girl, spoke, her voice high and trembling. "C-can you please help us? W-we lost our Mommy."

Why the hell were they still getting closer?! He knew he must look crazy but the others around him weren't yelling at him to put the gun down or about saving the children so he wasn't sure what they were doing. His screaming senses refused to allow him to look away from the children coming closer to him. He didn't want to shoot a kid, but something was wrong in this situation. Something wasn't right and he felt like something was going to change, that he would end up doing all kinds of things he didn't want to do.

"Sir?" the girl piped up again and Gareki switched off the safety on his firearm, his arm still dangerously steady. They were too close, now. The little girl look surprised at his audacity, almost shocked that he was actually going to shoot them. "We're j-just looking for our Mo-" That was enough.

"That's enough."

Gareki blinked in surprise. Those words hadn't actually come past his lips.

Wind seemed to slam into him from both sides of his body and Gareki sucked in a breath as it felt like two speed trains whistled past him.

"Get the kid out of here!"

Kid?!

He didn't even have any time to correct those words before the feeling of steel snapped around his waist and a sudden burst of G-Force robbed him of breath as they began ascending. When he could finally breath, he forced his eyes open- and found himself even higher in the air than the last time. He could see the entire market from this high.

"Are you alright?" Lenalee asked and Gareki felt his face flame as he realized how unmanly he must look to her. He was reminded of how Iva had carried him like a princess once before and it just made the mortification sink deeper.

"Did you get hurt!?"

Oh yeah, he hadn't answered her.

"I'm fine," he answered gruffly, and then sucked in another breath as they began to descend onto what he could swear was the top of the freaking Nyanperowna building.

"Stay here," she said simply and she carefully set him down (another mark against his pride), before taking off again high into the skies.

Silence reigned...

What. The. Fu-

"Gareki!" Whirling, Gareki held his aim steady, the gun still in his hands, though now sweatier than it had been before; Yogi and Nai both yelped in reaction.

Well, damn.

"You IDIOT!" He snapped immediately, apparently needing to let out some steam he wasn't even aware he had been holding. "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU **BEEN**?!"

"In the store!" Yogi cried, frightened. "We kept texting you to let you know that they had limited edition Nyanperowna bracelets! We weren't sure which one to get for you so we took a while! When we were leaving we heard something land on the roof so we jumped up and found you!" A pause then between the blubbered explanation. "Wait, Gareki-kun, how did you even get up here?"

Ticked, Gareki felt the steam only rise as he realized he didn't even know how to freaking _explain_ what had just occurred and that it had only happened in the twenty minutes that Yogi and Nai had been in the freaking store. Shoving his gun back into his pocket, Gareki stomped forward toward the blond in front of him and grabbed his shirt with a yank.

"Get us home. NOW."


	7. Where?

"Where's the kid?!"

"I left him right here," Lenalee said aloud for the second time as all four of the teens looked around the bright yellow roof-top. Her worried eyes scanned the buildings around them.

"Maybe he got down somehow?" Lavi supplied, clearly not as worried as his fellow exorcists as he looked down and into the bright and huge eyes of the Nyanperowna building sign. "And just what the heck is a Nyamperowna?"

"We finished off those akuma within ten mnutes." Allen supplied, his voice not as conident as the young bookman. "Could he really have found a way down that quickly- I would think he would be in shock for a moment after seeing his first akuma." At least, that was what he believed normally happened. A fainting spell or shock- one of the two.

"He didn't look in shock to me when he was holding that gun so steady." A soft breeze carried Lavi's words easily, though the reaction toward them had the rest of the teens noddng their heads in slight agreemment.

"He had the instincts of an exorcist, almost," Lenalee added, looking slightly puzzled as she remembered the other male's instant reaction to the threat.

"They just looked like children to me, at least they did at first." Lavi seemed to be suddenly thinking much more seriously as he, too, remembered The young male's reflexes and almost impossible alertness of the situation. "But how could that kid know that they weren't normal children? He didn't _look_ like an exorcist. And he sure didn't have eyes like Allen's."

A disgruntled growl cut through the thick air between the three exorcist then as Kanda finally spoke.

"We can ask all these questions later if we see him again, but right now, let's focus on why we came here in the first place."

"But, Yuu, that leads us back exactly where we were; the only one who seemed to even know what the heck we were even looking for was that kid. He also seemed to know a bit more than he was telling us. What was that island place he was talking about?"

"Rainbow Island?" Allen supplied and Lavi's head bobbed excitedly.

"Yes! That's it!"

"Then let's get moving, then."

"But, Kanda," Allen interjected even as Kanda sheathed Mugen and headed for the edge of the building, not waiting for the rest to catch up. "The boy also said that the island was dangerous and that no one travels that far."

"I'll convince them." Three words, yet they carried the promise of chaos if unchecked. The oldest teen didn't even look back as he jumped from the roof, leaving the others to follow without a single word to them. Allen sighed in exasperation.

"Kanda!"

Lavi chuckled behind them, "Good old, Yuu, always so eager." But his own eyes followed Lanelee's as she gave one more worried glance over the rooftop before following the others.

Just where _had_ the kid dissapeared off to?


End file.
